OUR GREAT AND GLORIOUS GOD

In the eleventh chapter of Romans the Apostle Paul is tracing for us a very strange connection between a largely Gentile church and the nation of Israel. Through the centuries many have wondered about the tie between these two remarkable peoples -- the church of God, which is made up now largely of Gentile believers, although there are Jews among us -- and the Jewish nation, that strange nation which now occupies a prominent place on the stage of the world.

As you know, there is no nation today quite like Israel. It attracts worldwide attention when anything happens to it -- attention that is way out of proportion to its size and its power. Let something occur in Jerusalem, or anywhere in Israel, and it is blazoned across headlines around the world. The eyes of the world are on this strange nation of the Jews. And Jews, as a people, constitute a strange, unusual power bloc in any country in which they are found today. Someone has suggested that it might be well for the United States to guarantee the permanent possession of Jerusalem to the Jews if they will agree to give New York and Miami back to us. Surely there is no nation quite like the nation of the Jews.

In Chapter 11 the apostle is dealing with this remarkable people, and twice he asks the question, "Has God forgotten his people?" Will God forget this people because of their rejection of Messiah? Has he turned his back on them? Twice he answers the question, "No, never. God has not forgotten his people."

In the first part of this chapter Paul gives us five reasons why it is evident that God has not forgotten his people the Jews. The first one (and one of the reasons why God has turned to the Gentiles and is saving men and women from among the Gentiles) is that he desires to arouse Israel to jealousy. God is reaching Gentiles because, ultimately, he wants to reach Jews. Second, Paul says the promises of worldwide blessing that fill so many prophetic passages of the Old Testament hinge upon the restoration of Israel to God. Worldwide blessing can never come until Israel is back in right relationship with its God.Third, he says that if the first Jews (the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob) could be made holy by God, then God is able to make Jews holy after thousands of years have passed. Therefore there is hope for Israel.

In Paul's fourth argument he uses the figure of an olive tree. The natural branches of the tree are broken off and unnatural branches are grafted on. He points out that even the Gentiles, when they do become believers, become spiritual Israelites. When a Jew becomes a Christian, he doesn't change his spiritual heritage at all; he fulfills it. Jews who become Christians today are "completed Jews," but Gentiles who become Christians become spiritual Jews. Therefore, Paul argues, not only is that true, but, fifth, if God could do that to the unnatural branches, if he could take a twisted, deformed Gentile and make him into a son of the living God, how much more can he do this with the natural branches, the Jews.

This brings us to Verse 25 of Chapter 11, where Paul actually prophesies the restoration that is coming to Israel. Up to now he has been arguing this from reason, but now he prophesies what this restoration will be like (Verses 25-29):

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins."

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. (Romans 11:25-29 NIV)

Perhaps the striking thing about this passage is that Paul calls the Jews' present resistance to the gospel a mystery. Now he doesn't mean that it is obscure and difficult to understand. The word "mystery" does not mean that in Scripture. What it means is that it is something supernatural. It is not caused by natural causes. It cannot be observed by the normal observation of human beings.

I do not know if you have had any occasion to try to witness to a Jew. If you have, perhaps you have run up against what seemed to be a rock wall of indifference and objection and resistance to what you were trying to say. If so, you may well have been experiencing what Paul is talking about here, a strange hardening toward the gospel on the part of the Jews.

When Paul calls this a mystery he means that it is a supernatural phenomenon that has to be revealed to us. You can't explain it by the normal reasons for resistance to the gospel. It is not because the Jews are inferior in intelligence -- they are among the most intelligent of people. Scores of the greatest intellectual leaders of our time have been Jewish in background. So it is not because they are dumb; they are not dumb. And it is not because they don't want God; they are among the most religious of all people. In fact, they have been called the most religious people of all time. They want God. Ordinarily you would think they would be open to hearing the good news of how God, in grace, is ready to reach men and change them and indwell them and enrich their lives. And yet those who go among the Jews often find this strange resistance, this anger that is awakened because of the preaching of the gospel. Paul will say more about that later.

First he points out that it has been prophesied that an awakening will come. There will be an awakening. But Paul says three things about this hardness that we must take careful note of: First, it is a hardening "in part." That is, not all Jews are afflicted this way. We are not told here how big a part of Israel is going to be hardened -- whether 10% or 90%. All we are told is that there are going to be some Jews who simply will not hear, who will not receive the gospel. Whether you are talking to one who is hardened or one who is not is very difficult to determine. It may mean, as it does oftentimes, that the person needs to be witnessed to and loved and reached over a period of time. No one can say that any given person belongs to that hardening. But we can say that there will be, as has been evident in history, a strange, remarkable resistance to the gospel. I have been to Israel five times, and I am always amazed at how resistant the Jews there seem to be to the claims of the Lord Jesus. Not only does Paul say that this hardening is in part, but it is also limited in time. It is not going to go on forever. A hardening of the heart has happened "until the full number of the Gentiles come in." So this is not something that they are bound to experience forever. It isn't something that can be explained by natural causes, and it is not going to last forever. What does "the full number of the Gentiles" mean? I really do not like that translation. The word the apostle uses is "the fullness of the Gentiles." We have to ask ourselves, "What does that mean?"

Some, obviously, have interpreted that to mean that a certain number of Gentiles are going to be converted. God has a certain number in mind and he is going to let the gospel go out to all the world until that number of Gentiles has been converted, and then he will release Israel from its blindness, its hardness. But I don't think this refers to a certain number. Actually, this is the second time in this chapter where the word fullness is used. It is used not only of the Gentiles, as here, but also of the Jews. There is a fullness of Israel mentioned here. In Verse 12, Paul says of Israel, "But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring?" There is the same word, pleroma, which means "that which fills." Notice that it is set in direct contrast to the words "their loss" or "their fall." That refers to the time when Israel was driven out of Jerusalem by the armies of the Romans in 70 A.D. and scattered throughout all the nations of the earth.

This does not mean there is a diminished number of Jews. The Jews have increased in number throughout all these centuries of dispersion, so it is not a lower number of Jews that is in view. This is not talking about quantity at all. Paul is talking, rather, about diminished spiritual riches. The Jews have lost the quality and richness of their relationship with God. Though they have the outward trappings of faith and the very books of the Law, still they have lost that richness of relationship that sets the heart aglow and the face radiant with the light and love and beauty and grace and character of God. This is the loss; therefore the fullness means "these riches restored."

So, when Paul uses this phrase "the fullness of the Gentiles," he is talking about a Gentile church which is going to become so rich and full in its spiritual riches that it will awaken again the envy of Israel. That is what God has said in this chapter. He turns to the Gentiles in order that he may arouse the Jews to envy. Anyone who reads church history knows that there hasn't been a great deal in Gentile churches that would awaken the Jews to envy! They see among Gentile Christians, for the most part, enemies. Oftentimes the Jews have been oppressed and persecuted and terribly treated -- all in the name of Jesus Christ -- by those who profess to be Christians. But if this interpretation is right, and I think it is, it means a very hopeful thing for us. It means that a day is coming when the Gentile churches are going to be enriched with such spiritual blessing that the Jews will say, "We should have that! That's the way we should be!" And the Jews will be open, as never before, to the gospel of the grace of God.

I think we are seeing a taste of this now. This is one reason why Jews, in greater number than ever before since the time of the dispersion, have been open to the gospel and turning to Christ. This is an amazing and encouraging thing. This is what the apostle says must take place.

Paul then says the prophets have told us this is going to happen: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob." That is a promise in the Old Testament prophets. Furthermore, quoting from Jeremiah, he says, "And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins," (Jeremiah 31:33-34). The deliverer is coming and forgiveness is going to be granted to Israel. That is clearly stated in the gospel.

And so the apostle closes with two important things we ought to remember about the Jews. I don't know if you have Jewish friends and neighbors or not. I have had, and have enjoyed contact with them. But whoever is in touch with Jews today ought to remember these two things from Verses 28-29: "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." God's gifts and his call cannot be taken back.

Now, the Jews may treat you as an enemy. That is due to this strange and supernatural hardening in part that has happened to Israel. This has been the experience of many who have gone as missionaries to the Jews. They have been treated as though they were attacking the Jews instead of trying to minister to them and help them. They have aroused the enmity and anger of the Jews.

Our friends the Jews for Jesus have told us how they have gone into Jewish communities to share and talk about their experience as Jews who have found the glory and the grace of God in Jesus Christ. They have been met with violence and attack upon their persons and enmity against them. I read last week that two thousand Jewish orthodox rabbis held a conference in New York City to determine what to do about the ravages that were being made in the Jewish community by the "Jews for Jesus" movement. The rabbis estimated there must be five thousand Jews for Jesus in New York City. The Jews for Jesus people say there are only thirty members there -- including secretaries. This is the fearsome front that any missionary movement among the Jews seems to create. It causes consternation among Jewish ranks and very grave resentment.

So remember, you may be treated as an enemy. But remember also that the Jews are loved by an unchanging God. God loves every Jew, without exception. No matter how stubborn or resistant they may be, he has set his love upon them. And the nations of the world had better not forget it. God still has chosen the Jews.

Now the apostle moves on to see God's principle of salvation for all men in this (Verses 30-32):

Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too, as a result of God's mercy to you, have become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:30-32 NIV)

That is an amazing statement! In this you see something of how the mind of God works and some of the strange wheels-within-wheels (Ezekiel 1:16, 10:6-10) with which he moves in current history to bring about his purposes. Paul says that God used the Jews' disobedience, their rejection of their own Messiah, in order to give opportunity to rebellious Gentiles to receive mercy and grace from his hand. In this very letter Paul recounted for us how the gospel went out to the Gentiles only because it had been rejected by the Jews. Paul said that in all the cities he came to, he started first in the synagogues. And he would have stayed there, had the Jews accepted the message. But when they rejected the message, he turned to the Gentiles. And it was only by the Jews' disobedience that the gospel went out to the Gentiles.

That, by the way, answers the question with which this whole section begins. In Chapter 9 Paul raises the question, "Has God failed?" Since he obviously has been trying to reach the Jews and has sent his own Son as their Messiah and they rejected him, does that mean that God has failed? The answer is now clear: No, God has not failed. He used that as a means to reach the Gentile world, which he had intended to reach all along. That was his way of bringing it about.

Then, Paul adds, after having shown mercy to the Gentiles, God now uses the very mercies he has shown to the Gentiles to make the Jews mad and rebellious in order that they, too, can receive mercy. What Paul is saying here is that, unless you realize how rebellious your heart is, there is no chance for you to receive mercy. And so God works in human history to make us aware of our basic, inherent rebellion against him. Paul concludes that everyone is a rebel, and God desires that everyone admit it, so they can receive mercy.

What is the thing that keeps any individual or nation from receiving mercy from God? It is always a self-righteous, self-confident attitude. "I don't need help. I can handle it myself. I am able to handle all the problems of life on my own. I don't need God." Any individual or nation with that attitude has cut himself off from receiving the mercy of God, for without mercy there is no way we can ever fulfill our humanity. So God, as Paul puts it here, has "bound all men over to [the knowledge of their] disobedience so that he may have mercy upon them all."

We have had an outstanding illustration of this in the fact that in the last few years two prominent national figures have remained etched in the public mind as an aftermath of Watergate: Richard Nixon and Charles Colson:

Charles Colson came to the place where he saw his own rebellion and disobedience to God. He finally came to a place where he was driven to his knees, where he saw that without recognizing it or knowing it, he had been involved in evil things. He began to recognize the extent of it and the control it had in his life. At last he was driven to the place where he openly committed himself to the mercy of God. God changed him. In his book Born Again he tells how God changed him, healed him, delivered him from prison, and sent him out again to have a new life. He is traveling across the country now, telling his story, involved deeply in a great and helpful ministry to prisoners. He is alive and enjoying life to the full. Richard Nixon, on the other hand, has isolated himself in a self-imposed exile in which he refuses to admit he has ever done anything wrong. Tormented with the past, he has become a national pariah, and his life is limited and narrow, crabbed, because he does not yet know of the mercy of God that is available to one who admits disobedience.

That is the way God works in history. He is constantly moving in many ways in our individual lives to bring us to an awareness of our self-righteousness and dependence on ourselves. Paul says the Jewish nation has not availed themselves of the righteousness of God. Because they are so determined to establish their own righteousness, they cannot accept the righteousness that comes by faith. That is their problem. Now all this awakens in the apostle's heart an outburst of praise and adoration for the wisdom and the greatness of God. He closes this section with these words (Verses 33-36):

Oh, the depth of the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his adviser?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36 NIV)

This reminder of the strange ways God works awakens within the apostle a tremendous outburst for God's inscrutable wisdom and his ways with men. As you look at these verses, you can see certain things that have amazed the apostle:

There are the deep riches, as Paul calls them, the deep riches of God's wisdom and of his ways. They are beyond human exploration. There is no way we can finally fathom God.

I received this week in the mail a pamphlet written by a group that is trying to analyze and understand intellectually all the doctrines of the Scriptures. They struggle, obviously, to put God in a box where they can get hold of him and analyze him. But if they succeed in that, they have only reduced God to the size of a man. God is greater than man. He is beyond us. We must always remember that. Our minds cannot grasp the greatness of God! We can understand what he tells us about himself, but even beyond that, there is much more that we cannot know. There are depths of riches. That is why we are always being surprised by God if we trust him. He is always enriching us in ways that we don't anticipate. Then Paul speaks of God's "unsearchable judgments." We are going through one of these unsearchable judgments right now. People cannot understand this strange drought that has gripped the whole country. Meteorologists are baffled. They say, "Why does this high pressure system sit off the coast up here, and not down by Baja, where it belongs?" They are hard pressed to find somebody to blame for it and they have no control over it. They keep telling us of storms that are coming that never show up. Why? Because God's ways are unsearchable, and his ways, who can trace out? He is beyond accountability. No man can call God to account and say, "You have no right to do that!" We do it all the time, but we have no right to do it. For God is beyond us; he knows so much more than we do.

If you have any trouble with this, just read the book of Job and see the amazing list of questions that God asked and that Job could not answer. God says, "Look, this is just A-B-C stuff. If you can't answer these, then you have no right to quiz me on what I am doing! If you don't understand this simply kindergarten level of knowledge, how am I ever going to explain to you the vast, involved, and complex things that I am doing?" Paul then is impressed by the untraceable ways of God, the paths of God that are beyond understanding. We can't put it all together. We can believe it, but we can't explain it.

For instance, it is clear from Scripture that nothing God ever planned interferes with human responsibility. Nothing God has ever said will happen in any way infringes on our free will or choice. We are free to make choices. We know it. We feel ourselves free to decide to do this or that, to do good or bad. Nothing God ever plans interferes with that freedom of human choice. And yet the amazing thing is that nothing humans ever do can frustrate God's sovereign plan. Isn't that amazing? How can you explain that? No matter what we do, whether we choose this or that with the freedom of choice we have, ultimately it all works out to accomplish what God has determined shall be done. That is the kind of God we have. Paul is not only impressed with God's inscrutable wisdom and ways, but he contrasts it with the impotence of man. He asks three very searching questions. If you have trouble with this, try to answer his questions: His first one is, "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" What he is asking is, "Who has ever anticipated what God is going to do?" Have you? Have you ever been able to figure out how God is going to handle the situations you get into? Oh, we all try, but it never turns out quite the way we think it will, does it? There is a little twist to it that we never could have guessed.

You see this in the case of Jesus. Remember how the Pharisees asked him, "Should we pay taxes to Caesar?" They thought they had him! If he said "No," the Romans would be mad at him; if he said "Yes," then the Jews would be mad at him. Do you remember how he handled it? He called for a coin and said, "Whose picture is on this coin? They said, "Caesar's." He said, "All right. What Caesar has put his image on, you give to Caesar (i.e., pay your taxes); but what God has put his image on, you give that to him," (Matthew 22:16-22, Mark 12:13-18, Luke 20:19-26). God had put his image on man, and that is what they owed to God -- themselves. The Pharisees couldn't handle that kind of an answer. It wiped them out.

Remember the woman caught in adultery? Her stern and self-righteous accusers were ready to put her to death. Then Jesus came. He didn't do a thing at first; he just sat and wrote on the ground. He looked up, finally, and said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone," (John 8:7). They stood there, puzzled and transfixed, then every one of them began to think of other places they ought to be. Soon they were all gone, and no one was left except the woman and Jesus. How could you ever have anticipated that he was going to handle it that way? How unsearchable are his judgments! Who has anticipated what God is going to do? No one. Second question: "Or who has been his adviser?" or "Who has ever suggested something that God has never thought of?" Have you ever tried that? I have. I have sometimes looked at a situation and saw the way to work it all out and suggested to God how he could do it. I thought I had been very helpful to him. But in the final outworking of the matter, it turned out that he knew things that I didn't know and he was working at things that I never saw and couldn't have seen. God's final outworking of it was right, and mine would have been wrong. So the question remains, "Who has ever suggested something to God that he has never thought of?"

Paul's last question is, "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" That is, "Who has ever given God something that he didn't already have?" Who has put God in his debt? "Why," Paul says, "everything we are and have comes from him. He gives to us; we don't give to him." There is nothing we could give to God that he doesn't already own or have in abundance, or could make, if he had to. There is nothing. And so he concludes with this great outburst: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." God is the originator of all things; all things come from him. He is the sustainer of all things; they all depend on him. As C. S. Lewis puts it, "To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all!" He is the end purpose. All things will find their culmination in God. He is the reason why all things exist. Therefore, "to him be the glory forever! Amen."

Then there occurs what must be the most terrible, tragic separation that has ever been made in the Bible. The chapter division here cuts off Paul's conclusion from all the tremendous arguments which have led up to it. For Paul goes right on to say, "Therefore... "

Therefore [because God is like this and you are like that], I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer yourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1 NIV)

I don't like that translation of "spiritual worship," either. Literally, it is "logical service." You see, it is only reasonable for man to be available to God. It is even your logical reason for existence. "Therefore," he says, "bring your bodies." If you are Christians, your spirits have already surrendered to God. But you are trying to live split lives, schizophrenic lives, if your body does not follow what your spirit has already done. Now put your body where your mouth is, and follow through with what your spirit has said to God. Be his available instrument.

At this point, traditionally I should give an altar call, in which you all would bring your bodies forward. But I am not going to do that because what Paul is describing here is not an act of the moment -- it is a commitment for the rest of your life. You are going to make your body available to God for as long as you live. Paul does not talk about your soul or your spirit because you never can do anything without your body in this life. So put your body on the line. Bring it, a living sacrifice, and the God of greatness and of glory, of infinite riches and wisdom and power, will fill that body with his own amazing life, and you will never find life to be the same again. What an adventure of faith that will launch you on!

Prayer:
We thank you, our amazing Father, for this look at something of the wonder of your Being. How far beyond our stumbling words your greatness is! How mighty and vast you are, Lord, how powerful among the nations of earth. How terrible that we should ever feel afraid, with a God like you. How stupid, Lord, that we should ever think that we can outwit you, or cheat you, or rob you, or get away with something in your presence. How foolish, Lord, that we should ever forget that you love us and have declared that love in unmistakable ways, and that your love can only enrich us and bless us, ultimately. Therefore, Lord, lead us to the place where, in our inner spirit, in the innermost chambers of our wills, we submit ourselves to you, gladly and cheerfully and thankfully. We are thankful that we have the inestimable privilege of being children of the living God today. We ask you to lead us and send us out into the world around us this week with that truth governing all that we say and do. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

By Ray C. Stedman

Fullness of the Gentiles By Jack Kinsella

By every measurable historical standard, the city of Jerusalem should have fallen into oblivion centuries ago. The city was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans and its founders and traditional inhabitants were killed or fled into exile in foreign lands.

It has no natural wealth. It has no coastline. It sits inconveniently upon a mountain. It overlooks nothing of strategic military value.

It is on no ancient trade route. The King's Highway of David's time ran north and south through modern Jordan. Jerusalem was well off the beaten path -- folks didn't pass through Jerusalem on their way to somewhere else -- Jerusalem was the end of the line.

Like other historical 'end of the line' cities, once its reason to exist was extinguished by the destruction of its native population, so should its history.

The once-great city of Babylon, for example, is little more than a living museum, devoid of influence or even much interest outside scholarly circles.

Over the centuries, it has been fought over by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Crusaders, Mongols, Mamelukes, by the Turks, the British, Jordan and most recently, by those Jordanians who became 'Palestinians' after Jordan's defeat in the 1967 War.

Jerusalem remains one of the most contested cities on earth to this day. That list doesn't include the approximately two hundred million Islamic fundamentalists or Islamic states like Iran or Saudi Arabia who have conducted a decades-long shadow war to 'liberate' the city from Jewish control.

Despite two thousand years of war aimed at destroying the Jews and seizing their city, in this generation, the Jews again inhabit an undivided Jerusalem.

"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24)

Jesus' sweeping prophecy concerning the future of city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants was fulfilled to the letter throughout history, including its restoration to Jewish hands. Note that its restoration signals the fulfillment of the 'times of the Gentiles'.

The Apostle Paul called himself the 'apostle of the Gentiles' (Romans 11:13) but Paul had formerly been known as Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee (lawyer) and Jewish religious leader. Paul explains that the Church is a 'graft' from the original tree (Judaism), saying,

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." Romans 11:25)

Here we find the same phraseology that was employed by Jesus concerning the 'times of the Gentiles'. Jesus referred to the times of the Gentiles as being 'fulfilled'. Paul speaks of the 'fulness of the Gentiles'.

Paul says that, following the 'fulness of the Gentiles',

"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:27)

Paul notes that, during the Church Age, "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes," but Paul cautions; "but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes."

Then Paul wraps it all together by saying, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." (Romans 11:29)

This is one of the great mysteries of Scripture. The Jews are enemies of the Gospel for 'our sakes'. What does that mean?

Jesus taught that His mission was to come first to the Jews. When approached by the Samaritan woman begging Him to help her daughter, Jesus told her, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)

To the Jews He prophesied, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." (John 5:43)

If the Jews had accepted their Messiah at His First Advent, there would have been no Church Age and the Lord would have set up the Millennial Kingdom right then and there.

Jesus prophesied that because of their rejection of Him, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." His prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginning of the 'Times of the Gentiles.'

The usurper who comes in his own name and is received as the Messiah comes after the 'fulness of the Gentiles' is come in.

Jeremiah calls it the 'Time of Jacob's Trouble' (Jeremiah 30:7). Jesus calls it the 'Tribulation' (Matthew 24:29). The prophet Daniel outlines the Tribulation's six-fold purpose, from the perspective of Israel;

"(1) to finish the transgression, and (2) to make an end of sins, and (3) to make reconciliation for iniquity, and (4) to bring in everlasting righteousness, and (5) to seal up the vision and prophecy, and (6) to anoint the most Holy." (Daniel 9:24)

Let's connect the dots and see how the Big Picture develops here. Jesus said that the restoration of Jerusalem to Jewish control would signal that the 'fulness of the Gentiles be come in'.

Jesus said of the generation on earth at that time, "This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." (Luke 21:32)

Paul says that the Jews, as an institution, rejected Jesus so that the Gentiles would have a chance at salvation. He said that God would not return His attention to Israel until 'the fulness of the Gentiles be come in'. The 'fulness of the Gentiles' indicates a finite number -- a 'quota', so to speak -- of Gentiles who will come to know Christ during the Church Age.

Once that quota -- the Church Age 'elect' have been gathered, God returns His attention to the Jews, "And so all Israel shall be saved" -- because "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."

That Jesus offered salvation first to Israel is confirmed by His own Words as recorded by John.

The 'Time of Jacob's Trouble' is so-called because of its purpose as outlined by Daniel -- the six-fold purpose that culminates with the 'anointment of the most Holy' as Messiah and the beginning of the Millennial Reign from Jerusalem.

Note how clearly the two Dispensations are divided. Until the Crucifixion, God's attention was focused on Israel. Until the 'fulness of the Gentiles be come in' God's attention is focused on the Church.

The Church, as the 'Bride of Christ' serves no role in Daniel's six-point outline for the Tribulation Period. Take another look at Daniel 9:24 before we go on.

The transgression was finished at the Cross. The Blood of Christ takes away all sin. (1st John 1:7) His death and resurrection reconciled the Church to God.

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2nd Corinthians 5:18-19)

To the saved believer reconciled to God by the Blood of Christ, 'everlasting righteousness' is a gift of grace through faith, 'sealing' the vision and prophecy of the Old Covenant and introducing the New Covenant with the Church.

The believer knows that Jesus is ALREADY anointed King of King and Lord of Lords and is awaiting His return at the end of the Church Age.

There is no role for the Church Age during the Time of Jacob's Trouble -- it doesn't begin until after the 'fulness of the Gentiles' is come in. And this is the generation in which Jerusalem was recovered from Gentile control, signaling the approach of the fullness of the Gentiles'.

The Tribulation serves two main purposes; the first is the judgment of God on a Christ-rejecting world. The second is the nation redemption of Israel. By definition, Church-Age believers have NOT rejected Christ, and need no further redemption.

The Bible says that, before the unfolding of the Time of Jacob's Trouble, there will come an ingathering of Church Age believers:

"Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Revelation 3:10)

Jerusalem is the signal that this is the generation that will see the 'fulness of the Gentiles be come in'. It was of that generation that Paul promised:

"For this we say unto you BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall . . . be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:15,17b)

The time is short. Don't let anybody steal your victory. Jesus is coming soon for His Church, and "THEN shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." (2nd Thessalonians 2:8)

Get excited! The time is short, the fulness of the Gentiles is at hand; the Lord IS coming soon!

"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (2nd Thessalonians 4:18)

Old Persia Goes Nuclear By Gary Stearman

Present-day Iran is really old Persia, mentioned in the Old Testament by Ezra, Ezekiel, Daniel, and others. Most famously, where this ancient country is linked with the infamous Gog of Ezekiel 38. There, it is listed as the northern invader’s chief ally:

"And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

"And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

"Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet" (Ezk. 38:3-5).

Its present territory stretches from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on the north, to the Gulfs of Persia and Oman on the south. It is strategically positioned between Russia and the Arabian Peninsula. Possessed of great oil wealth, it is about to become a major producer of nuclear weapons.

Last October, Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, underscored his country’s new feeling of power by declaring that Israel should be wiped off the map. At that point, a number of countries reacted by attempting to slow Iran’s nuclear progress.

Likud MK Benjamin Netanyahu reacted by saying that Israel should deal with Iran’s nuclear facilities in the same way that it did with Iraq in 1981. At that time, Israel bombed Saddam Hussein’s Osirak Reactor into rubble. Now with Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor scheduled for completion in 2007, Israel’s Ariel Sharon has declared that his country cannot accept Iran’s entry into the world’s list of nuclear powers.

At the same time, as reported by Israel’s December 1st YnetNews, "Sharon warned that a nuclear Iran is not only a threat to Israel but also to Arab states and many western countries, but added that Israel is not spearheading international efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions."

Sharon said, "Israel needs not lead the campaign, yet we are in close contact with countries that are dealing with the issue."

He said that he "… agrees with the U.S. President George W. Bush that dealing with Iran’s push for nuclear armament is a top priority." His carefully crafted language constitutes a veiled warning to Iran. Israel would not threaten to take out the Iranians’ nuclear capability unless it had a plan to back up their talk.

Beginning in 2001, the Israelis began to take delivery of the new Lockheed Martin F-16i ground attack fighter. With a huge engine, extra fuel, two seats allowing for a weapons officer and an array of missiles, it could travel to Iran and knock out the contested facilities there. Called the Soufa (Storm), it has become a major part of the Israeli Air Force. Their first order of 50 aircraft will become complete in 2008, bringing the total number to 362. The F-16i has state-of-the-art electronic control, aiming and guidance systems. It is also capable of blocking the enemy’s detection systems.

Enter the Russians

At a moment’s notice, the Soufa can streak across the Syrian and Iraqi deserts to find its Iranian targets. Russian military advisors to Iran know all about the capabilities of this flying super-weapon. They are now helping Iran to defend against it.

As reported by a December 2nd WorldNetDaily article by Joseph Farah, "Russia has signed a deal with Iran to sell 29 of its Tor M-1 anti-missile systems, a development that will complicate any planned pre-emptive attack on the rogue nations nuclear facilities."

A description of this system suggests that it is specifically designed to stop attacks of the type that can be launched by the Soufa: "The [Tor M-1] system would theoretically permit Iran to intercept some cruise missiles as well as airborne missiles that U.S., Israeli or other western countries might use in an effort to keep the terrorist-supporting nation from developing nuclear weapons or using them.

"Russian sources say the Tor system is ‘a weapon of defense’ and does not represent a danger to the U.S. as long as Washington does not attack Iran.

"Another Russian source says Iran only seeks ‘to defend its nuclear thermal power station’ that Moscow is building in Bushehr – set for completion in 2007.

"Washington, meanwhile, along with European nations, claims Iran is attempting to develop offensive nuclear weapons under the pretense of civilian activities."

As we watch the Middle East, the tension builds toward the prophesied war of Ezekiel 38, in which "Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach and Tubal," forms an alliance with Persia to invade Israel from the north. It is universally recognized that Magog is a code name for Russia.

Under Vladimir Putin, their alliance with Iran is tightening on a moment-by-moment basis. One nuclear detonation – regardless of its size or point of origin – could trigger Ezekiel’s prophecy. The Russian-Persian alliance is not a future possibility. It is a present fact. We await its outcome.

Is The Name JESUS In The Old Testament?

In speaking with my Jewish brethren for the past many years in Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Uruguay, I had one great difficulty and it was this: my Jewish people would always fling at me this challenging question: "If Jesus is our Messiah and the whole Old Testament is about Him, how come His name is never mentioned in it even once?"

I could never answer it satisfactorily to their way of thinking, and I admit I often wondered why His name was not actually written in the Old Bible. O yes, I could show them His divine titles in Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Jeremiah 28:5,6, etc., and even the word MESSIAH (Christ) in several places; but the Hebrew name that would be equal to Jesus, that I could not show-until one day the Holy Spirit opened my eyes, and I just shouted. There was the very NAME Jesus found in the Old Testament about 100 times all the way from GENESIS to HABAKKUK! Yes, the very word-the very NAME that the angel Gabriel used in Luke 1:31 when he told Mary about the Son she was to have.

"Where do we find that NAME?" you ask. Here it is, beloved: Every time the Old Testament uses the word SALVATION (especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning "my", "thy," or "his"), with very few exceptions (when the word is impersonal), it is the very identical and absolutely same word YESHUA (Jesus) used in Matthew 1:21. Let us remember that the angel who spoke to Mary and the angel who spoke to Joseph in his dream did not speak in English, Latin or Greek, but in Hebrew; and neither was Mary nor Joseph slow to grasp the meaning and significance of the NAME of this divine Son and its relation to His character and His work of salvation. For in the Old Testament all great characters were given names with a specific and significant meaning.

For example in Genesis 5:29 Lamech called his son "Comfort (Noah), saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands." In Genesis 10:25, Eber calls his first-born son "Division (Peleg); for in his days the earth was divided." The same is true of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob (changed to Israel-God's Prince), and all of Jacob's sons (see Genesis chapters 29-32). In Exodus 2:10 Pharaoh's daughter called the baby rescued from the Nile "Drawn-Forth (Moses); and she said, Because I drew him out of the water." And so we can go on and on to show the deep significance of Hebrew names.

Now then, when the angel spoke to Joseph, husband of Mary and the mother of our Lord, this is what he really said and what Joseph actually understood: "And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Yeshua (SALVATION) for he shall salvage (or save) His people from their sins." This text was so forcibly brought home to my soul soon after I was converted over 24 years ago, that I saw the whole plan of the Old Testament in that one ineffable and blessed NAME.

So let us proceed to show clearly the Hebrew name YESHUA (Greek, Iesus: English, Jesus) in the Old Testament.

When the great Patriarch Jacob was ready to depart from this world, he by the Holy Spirit was blessing his sons and prophetically foretelling their future experiences in those blessings. In verse 18 of Genesis 49 he exclaims, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord!" What he really did say and mean was, "To thy YESHUA (Jesus) I am looking, O Lord"; or, "In thy YESHUA (Jesus) I am hoping (trusting), Lord!" That makes much better sense.

Of course, YESHUA (Jesus) was the One in Whom Jacob was trusting to carry him over safely the chilly waters of the river of death. Jacob was a saved man, and did not wait until his dying moments to start trusting in the Lord. He just reminded God that he was trusting in His YESHUA (Jesus-Salvation), and was at the same time comforting his own soul.

In Psalm 9:14 David bursts forth: "I will rejoice in thy salvation!" What he actually did say and mean was, "I will rejoice in (with) thy YESHUA (Jesus)."

In Psalm 91:14-16 God says, "because he delighted in me I will deliver him: I will set him on high (raise him above circumstances), because he hath known my name. He shall call me, and I will answer him; I am with him in affliction; I will succor him and honor him. With length of days (eternal life) will I satisfy him, and I will cause him to look upon my YESHUA (Jesus-Salvation)." Of course. That promise is realized in Revelation 22:3,4: "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him; and they shall see HIS face."

In Isaiah 12:2,3 we have something wonderful. Here SALVATION is mentioned three times. The reader will be much blessed by reading these glorious verses in his Bible but let me give them as they actually read in the original Hebrew with Jesus as the embodiment and personification of the word SALVATION: "Behold, mighty (or, God the mighty One) is my YESHUA (Jesus-in his pre-incarnation and eternal existence); I will trust and not be afraid; for JAH-JAHOVAH is my Strength and my Song; He also is become my YESHUA (Jesus "and the word became flesh, and dwelt among us"(John 1:14)-Jesus incarnate). Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of YESHUA (Jesus crucified-waters of salvation flowing forth from Calvary)."

Something very interesting occurred one spring in St. Louis. I was visiting in the home of our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Siegelman, and another Jewish man was present there. He claimed Jewish orthodoxy for his creed. Of course the conversation centered around Him Who is the Center of all things-Jesus. This good Jewish brother opposed the claims of Christ in the Old Testament verbally, and in a friendly thought, was to fling at me and at all of us there the well-known challenge: "You can't find the name 'Jesus' in the Old Testament;" and this he did.

I did not answer him directly, but asked him to translate for us from my Hebrew Bible Isaiah 62:11. Being a Hebrew scholar, he did so with utmost ease, rapidity and correctness; and here is what and how he translated that text verbatim: "Behold, Jehovah has proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy YESHUA (Jesus) cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him" Just then he crimsoned as he realized what he had done and how he had played into my hands, and just fairly screamed out "No! No! You made me read it 'thy YESHUA' (Jesus), Mr. Glass! You tricked me!" I said, "No; I did not trick you; I just had you read the Word of God for yourself. Can't you see that here SALVATION is a Person and not a thing or an event? 'He comes; HIS reward is with HIM, and His work before Him.'" Then he rushed at his own Old Testament, talking away frantically, saying, "I'm sure mine is different from yours." And when he fount the passage, he just dropped like a deflated balloon: his Old Testament was of course identically the same. All he could use as an escape from admitting defeat was to deny the divine inspiration of the Book of Isaiah.

Then skipping on to Habakkuk, we have the greatest demonstration of the NAME "Jesus" in the Old Testament; for here we have both the name as well as the title of the Savior. In 3:13 we read literally from the original Hebrew: "Thou wentest forth with the YESHA (variant of Yeshua-Jesus) of (or for) thy people; with YESHUA thy MESSIAH (thine Anointed One: i.e., with Jesus thy Christ); thou woundest the head of the house of the wicked one (Satan)." Here you have it! The very NAME given to our Lord in the New Testament-JESUS CHRIST! So don't let anyone-Jew or Gentile- tell you that the Name JESUS is not found in the Old Testament.

And so when the aged Simeon came to the Temple, led there by the Holy Ghost, and took the baby Jesus in his arms, he said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy YESHUA (Jesus)." Luke 2:29-30. Certainly! Not only did his eyes see God's SALVATION - God's YESHUA (Jesus) - but he felt Him and touched Him, as His believing heart throbbed with joy and assurance and as he felt the throb of the loving heart of God as it throbbed in the heart of the holy infant Jesus. By Arthur E. Glass

"And thou shalt call His name SALVATION (YESHUA - Jesus); for He shall salvation-salvage-save His people from their sins!"

Yeshua, Who Is He? ~ By Dr. Michael Brown

Jesus - Yeshua. Rabbi? Prophet? Healer? Deliverer? Savior? Messiah? Son of God? Jesus - Yeshua. Deceiver? Apostate? Magician? Rebel? Traitor? Liar? Accursed of God?

Two thousand years have come and gone, but the question remains the same: Is Jesus of Nazareth the Jewish Messiah, the Savior of the world? If He is, then let's follow Him, for we have no other way. If He's not, let's expose Him, for only the truth will set us free.

Although the world is full of religions, the controversy surrounding the Messiahship of Jesus is unique, because both those who accept Jesus and those who reject Him base their beliefs on one and the same Book. Jews who follow Jesus say: "He must be the Messiah. He fulfilled all the prophecies of the Bible." Jews who don't follow Jesus say: "He can't be the Messiah. He fulfilled none of the prophecies of the Bible."

Who's right?

From one book, the Hebrew Scriptures, have come two faiths. One faith says: We'd rather die than confess the name of Jesus. The other faith says: We'd rather die than deny the name of Jesus. One faith says: There are two Messiahs who will come only once.* The other faith says: There is one Messiah but He will come twice.

"So how can I know the truth?"

Simple. Only one of these two faiths has really followed the Bible. The other has gone its own way. Only one has really continued in the power of God. The other has followed the traditions of men. If we listen carefully to the voice of God, then His Word will be "a light to our path and a lamp to our feet." His Word is sure. He cannot lie.

Recently I was speaking to a well educated, ultra - orthodox rabbi about the Messiahship of
Jesus. He didn't want to hear my opinions (and I can t blame him for that!). He didn't care about what anybody else had to say. He just wanted to go back to the original sources. "Let's go back to the Talmud," he said. "That's where we can find the truth."

I think my answer surprised him. "Why should I go back to the Talmud," I said, "when I can go all the way back to the New Testament?" To my surprise, he didn't argue.

You see, many Jewish people today are told that Judaism alone is the real religion of the Bible, and that "Christianity" is a much later, predominantly gentile religion. And yet statements such as these, intimidating as they may sound, are simply not true.

Here are the facts: traditional Judaism as we know it today is absolutely not the religion of Moses and the prophets. It is the religion of the rabbis who lived and taught over 1500 years later. Instead of being the religion of Temple and sacrifice as prescribed by the Torah, it is the religion of no Temple and no sacrifice, in spite of the Torah. It may shock you to know this, but some of Judaism's most sacred books did not even exist before the late Middle Ages. Christopher Columbus had already discovered America before the Code of Jewish Law used by Orthodox Jews today had ever been compiled!

As for Messianic Judaism, the Judaism that believes in Yeshua the Messiah, the facts are as follows: the sole authority for faith and practice is the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Covenants. Rather than the New Covenant being a late gentile book, all its authors, except one, were Jews, Jews who lived in the days before the second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. Many other traditions and customs added in the following centuries by the church have had nothing to do with the Bible and therefore have absolutely no connection with Messianic Judaism. Although some people may call them "Biblical" or "Christian," they are totally devoid of scriptural authority.

The writers of the New Covenant were Jews who recognized that Messiah had come to atone for the sins of His people. They based their beliefs on the Hebrew Scriptures, and on the Hebrew Scriptures alone. Thus they knew that Yeshua was the Jewish Messiah because He fulfilled the Old Covenant prophecies. If He had not fulfilled the prophecies then they would not have followed Him. They recognized Him because He fit the description perfectly.

Then why didn't the other Jewish leaders of the day acknowledge that Yeshua was in fact the Messiah? The answer again is simple: They weren't looking for Him. They were looking for another. The Messiah of the rabbis was not the Messiah of the Bible. And yet the thing they longed for most was the very thing they missed, for Messiah had come to save them from their sins.

So in 30 C.E., as Yeshua "approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. For you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.' "Forty years later Jerusalem was destroyed, and tens of thousands of her inhabitants were dead.

"But wait one second," you say. "Weren't these rabbis the very ones who studied the Law day and night? And weren't these the men who were responsible for some of the most beautiful prayers and teachings that were ever written? How did it happen, then, that some of the most scrupulous and zealous Jews who ever lived missed the Messiah?" It is to this question that we now must turn.

Substitution.

There is no more important word in the Hebrew Bible than this if we are to understand God's holy love for us - Substitution.

It is the key that unlocks the door to our redemption. And it is the rock that makes men stumble. It alone can fully explain why Yeshua's own people missed Him, and it alone can open their eyes again. Substitution. Without this word Yeshua's death is a farce.

The rabbis of the Talmud debated about how to be made right with God. While some recognized that "there was no atonement without the blood," they didn't all agree on the rest. Some said, "For certain sins, the Day of Atonement alone is sufficient." Others argued, "No! There must be repentance as well." Some claimed that only the Day, plus repentance, plus suffering would do the trick, while there were those who said, "The only hope for forgiveness is in the Day of Atonement and death!"

And yet they missed the point of the Day, and they missed the point of the blood. They failed to grasp the lesson that was before their eyes.

Day after day, the Sadducees offered their sacrifices at the Temple. Thousands upon thousands of animals were slain, and gallons of blood were poured out on the altar. Lambs and goats and rams and calves were offered up to a holy God. Yet the people could not see.

The Pharisees studied the Torah day and night. They added new regulations to old laws, and they developed the most detailed system of ritual purity that the world has ever known. They taught that study of the Law was more loved by God than even the offerings themselves. Yet they failed to see the heart of the matter. They failed to grasp the fundamental meaning of it all.

For it was not the blood of bulls that God wanted for Himself; it was not the fat of rams that He desired. It was not a people of outward holiness that He sought; He did not require a new code that would keep men clean. No. He wanted a substitute, a righteous lamb who would bear His people's sins. He wanted a spotless sacrifice who would purify the people within.

Over and over again, a thousand times ten thousand, the offerings were brought before the altar. And over and over again, in numbers too great to count, their innocent blood was spilled. And over and over again, the message of God was crying out: "A substitute must come! A substitute must come!"

The Jewish people of Yeshua's day were all looking for a Savior. Some hoped for a mighty military leader, while others looked for a deliverer from the sky. Some looked for a holy priest, while others looked for a teacher of righteousness. Yet no one was looking for a crucified Messiah. And no one was looking for the Lamb of God. They had forgotten that the righteous Servant of the LORD was Himself to be an 'asham - an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10). And they had forgotten father Abraham's words that God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering (Genesis 22:8).

Yes, there were some rabbis who claimed that every sacrifice was accepted on the basis of Abraham's offering up of Isaac. And they claimed that in the Passover rite, when God "saw the blood" (Exodus 12), He was looking at the sacrifice of Isaac and not at the blood of the lamb.

Yet Isaac was not offered, and his blood was never shed. And it was God Himself who provided the sacrifice that saved the life of Abraham's son.

It was Messiah who suffered and died, and it is by His wounds that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). It was He who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and it was He who bore our sins (Isaiah 53:7, 12 and Leviticus 16:22).

Oh yes, there were Jewish teachers who believed that the suffering of the righteous could bring atonement to the world. Yet when the truly Righteous One suffered and died, they said that it was for nought.

Our rabbis tell us that when Messiah comes, He will establish peace on earth. When the real Savior comes, He will remove us from sin. But a savior who takes us out of sin without taking the sin out of us is really no savior at all. And a Messiah who establishes peace on earth without first establishing peace in our hearts is really no Messiah at all.

Messiah had to die. Messiah had to take our place. There was no other way. No other substitute was found. No one else could pay the price. Nothing else could heal our wounds, for sin required death.

Yeshua paid the price. It was His death that brought us life. He alone was the substitute for the sinful human race, and He alone can offer us redemption.

The traditional Judaism of our day has its roots in the religion of the Pharisees, a small group of Jews who banded together over two thousand years ago. These were the men who would not eat with ceremonially unwashed hands, the men so famous for their attention to detail. These were the men who even tithed on insignificant crops and who studied every jot and tittle of God's Law.

Yet many of these men missed Yeshua when He came. They did not see the forest for the trees.

For it is not ritual observance that makes a man clean within, and it is not attention to an outer system of laws that brings us to God. The heart of the Torah is to "love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbor as ourselves." Yet this is the truth that these zealous men missed, since in their passion for the letter of the law they missed the spirit of the One who gave it.

And as the Pharisees went, so have the Jewish people gone.

Traditional Judaism as we know it today is the religion of those who rejected Yeshua. It is a decided reaction against faith in Him. It is a system which has been reconstructed to negate and counteract Messiah's real claims. That's why traditional Jews throughout the ages have stumbled over the person of Yeshua. But in the beginning it was not so.

The Jewish teachers before Yeshua emphasized the miraculous and believed in the power of God's testimony from heaven. But when the followers of Yeshua had all the healing cures, they said, "We don't depend on a miracle!"

Many of the Jews of Yeshua's day were looking for a deliverer who would come in the clouds of heaven. Yet when Yeshua came and said, "I will come again in the clouds of heaven," they said, "Not so! Our Messiah will be a teacher of the Law, a rabbi like ourselves!"

They had the prayers, they had the laws, they had the covenant tradition - how did our forefathers miss it? The answer again is simple. They truly had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). They did not attain what they sought after, for they stumbled over the grace of God.

Messiah had come to make them well, yet they said in reply, "We're not sick!"

But not all of our forefathers missed it. The writer of almost half of the New Covenant was himself a Pharisee, born of the tribe of Benjamin. And the Book of Acts records "how many myriads of Jews" there were who believed and were zealous for the Torah (Acts 21:20). In fact, a great many of the [Jewish] priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7), and even today in our country and throughout the world, there are tens of thousands of Jews who believe and confess, "Yeshua is the Messiah! Yeshua is Lord!"

This, then, is the real Judaism, the Judaism that is truly Messianic. And this is the faith that Will bring the world back to God, the faith that will cause the nations to believe. And Yeshua is the One who will establish justice in the earth, "and the coastlands shall [and do!] wait for His law!" (Isaiah 42:4).

The Talmud teaches that for the last forty years before the Temple was destroyed, God did not accept the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39). Year after year, for the life of one whole generation, the LORD was saying, "No."

You see, God had provided one sacrifice for all, a final atonement for the sins of mankind. God had provided the Lamb. And it was forty years before the Temple was destroyed that Yeshua offered His life. From that day to this, God has been saying "no" to His people "No more of your sacrifices, no more of your prayers, no more of your works. I have provided the way."

Yet to all who have ears to hear, God has been saying: "Yes, you may come! Yes, you can know Me! Yes, I will cleanse you from all your sin! Believe in the One that I have sent. Messiah Yeshua has come."

The spiritual leaders of our people who tell us that we cannot know God are wrong. They are only saying, "I don't know Him, so how can you? I've studied for years and I'm still learning. How can you be so sure?"

Once again, our answer is simple and clear. Messiah Yeshua has made God known. He has revealed the Father to us. And through His blood we have been brought back to God.

Tradition will not save us.
Opinions will not set us free.
Messiah has ransomed our souls from the pit. Let all His Jewish people come!

*Although most traditional Jews are unaware of the teaching of the two Messiahs, one who will suffer and die in the last great war, and one who will rule and reign, this is the teaching of the Talmud and most of the early Jewish writings. For a clear statement, see the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a.

What's In a Name? By Gary Hedrick

Messianic Perspectives

NAMES WERE VERY SIGNIFICANT IN BIBLE TIMES. God often used a person's name to reveal aspects of his background, character, or destiny.

For instance, God changed Abram's name from Abram (Heb., "exalted father") to Abraham ("father of a multitude"), pointing to the divine prophecy that he would become "the father of many nations" (Gen. 17:4-5). Also, Abraham and Sarah's first son was named Isaac, meaning "he laughs," because Abraham and Sarah both laughed at the suggestion that she would bear a son (Gen. 17:17; 18:11-15).

Who has more names than anyone else in the entire Bible? Not surprisingly, it is Jesus of Nazareth. In describing the background, character, and destiny of the Son of God, the Bible lavishes no fewer than 103 different names on Him. He is our Advocate (1 John 2:1), the Almighty (Rev. 1:8), Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13), Amen (Rev. 3:14), Apostle and High Priest of our Profession (Heb. 3:1), Arm of the Lord (Isa. 51:9), Author and Finisher of our Faith (Heb. 12:2), and Author of Eternal Salvation (Heb. 5:9). And those are just the ones that start with "A."

His full Hebrew name is Adonai Yeshua Hamashiach, or the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). When Paul declared that this is the "Name which is above every name" (Phil. 2:9), he was equating Jesus with Hashem (lit., "the Name"), a Jewish designation for God Himself.

The Generations of Adam

Genesis, Chapter 5, is "the book of the generations of Adam" (Verse 1). The genealogy covers a total of nine generations, extending from Adam to Noah. When we examine the ten men who represent these nine pre-Flood generations, we find that their names are very significant. This sequence of names forms a remarkable, ancient statement of God's wondrous plan of redemption.

1. ADAM. We begin with the first man. In Hebrew, God called him Haadam, or "the man" (Gen. 2:19 in the Hebrew Bible). It comes from a root word meaning "to show blood (in the face)," suggesting that Adam had a ruddy (red) complexion. The ancient rabbis did not count Adam as a generation because he was created, not born. His sons, then, were the first generation.

2. SETH. The next name is that of Adam's third son, Seth, whose Hebrew name means "set up," or "appointed." After Cain murdered Abel (Gen. 4:8), God provided another son, Seth, to carry on the Messianic line. Mother Eve declared that God had ". . . appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Gen. 4:25). Seth represented the first generation.

3. ENOS. Seth had a son named Enos. The Hebrew word enosh comes from a root meaning "frail, feeble, or melancholy." Therefore, this name emphasizes the frailty and mortality of fallen humanity.

Before the Fall, God warned Adam that the consequences of sin would include physical and spiritual death (Gen. 2:17). However, there is a hint that the full impact of the Fall wasn't felt until the third generation. Genesis 4:26 tells us that ". . . then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." As they began to feel the brunt of mortality, Adam and his descendants recognized their need for God's help.

4. CAINAN. The third generation after Adam is represented by Cainan, whose Hebrew name Kenan means "habitation" or "dwelling place." Its roots include the meanings "fixed," "a nest," and "to erect."

5. MAHALALEEL. The fourth generation is represented by Mahalaleel, whose name comes from several Hebrew roots (see chart) and designates "the blessed God." Notice its similarity to the word hallelujah ("bless God").

6. JARED. Adam's great-great-great-grandson was Jared, whose name in Hebrew (Yered) means "descend," or "(he) shall come down."

7. ENOCH. Enoch represented generation number six. His Hebrew name Chanok means "initiated," or "trained." It derives from the root chanok, meaning "to initiate, narrow, dedicate, or consecrate." This is the word translated "train up" in Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Enoch was both a teacher and a prophet. He uttered the first explicit prophecy of the Messiah's Second Coming (Jude 14-15).

8. METHUSELAH. Arthur W. Pink, in his book Gleanings in Genesis, best explains the meaning of this name. He writes, "The name Methuselah strongly implies that Enoch had received a revelation from God. The name Methuselah signifies, 'When he is dead it shall be sent; i.e., the deluge' (Newberry). In all probability, then, a divine revelation is memorialized in this name" (p. 23). Methuselah's death marked the end of mankind's 120-year grace period and the coming of the Great Flood. (Genesis 6:3 makes reference to the 120-year grace period.)

9. LAMECH. This name appears in Hebrew as Lemek. Jewish sources say that Lamech's name conveys the idea of "a captive," or "someone who is ruled." Their reasoning was that the Hebrew spelling of Lemek is the opposite of Melech, which means "king." Melech consists of three Hebrew letters: Mem (which, in rabbinic thought, represented the brain), Lamed (the heart), and Kaph (the kidneys). Ancient rabbis took this to mean that true rulership resulted from the brain (thinking) ruling the heart (feeling). The name Lamech reverses the first two letters and, therefore, has the opposite meaning.

On the occasion of Noah's birth, Lamech spoke of his hope that his son would be the Messiah, the One through whom the Adamic curse would be broken: ". . . This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed" (Gen. 5:29). Although his son was not the Messiah, Lamech's name does appear in the genealogy of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ (Luke 3:36).

10. NOAH. The final generation before the Flood was that of Noah whose Hebrew name Noach means "comfort." Noah and his family-a total of eight people-were the only ones to survive the worldwide deluge. The world was repopulated by the descendants of his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Composite Message:

"Man (is) appointed (a) mortal habitation, (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring the captives comfort."

NAME (Hebrew/English) STRONG'S NUMBER AND DEFINITION MEANING

Haadam (Adam) 0121 The first man 0120 Ruddy; human 0119 To show blood (red) Man

Sheth (Seth) 8352 Put 7896 Place Appointed

Enosh (Enos) 0583 Son of Sheth 0582 A mortal 0605 To be frail, feeble Mortal

Kenan (Cainan) 7018 Fixed 7064 A nest 7077 To erect Habitation

Mahalaleel 4111 Praise of God 4110 Fame 0410 Strength; mighty
0352 Strength 0193 Be strong 1984 Be clear; shine; make a show; rave The blessed God

Yered (Jared) 3382 A descent 3381 To descend Shall come down

Chanok (Enoch) 2585 Initiate 2596 To narrow; to discipline Teaching.

Methushelach (Methuselah) 4968 Man of a dart 4962 An adult
4970 Extent; when 7973 Missile of attack 7971 To send away, send for, or send out His death shall bring

Lemek (Lamech) 3929 (1) Son of Methusael 3929 (2) Son of Methuselah Captives

Noach (Noah) 5146 Rest 5118 Quiet 5117 To rest Comfort

The Message of Redemption

When we link the names of these ten pre-Flood patriarchs together, they form the following sentence: "Man (is) appointed (a) mortal habitation, (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring the captives comfort." It's the Gospel in a nutshell!

"MAN . . ." This includes not just one class or race of humanity, but everyone-all the descendants of Adam. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

". . . (IS) APPOINTED (A) MORTAL HABITATION, . . ." In 2 Corinthians 5:1, Paul refers to our mortal bodies as an "earthly house," or dwelling place. Death (mortality) entered the world through Adam's sin (Rom. 5:17). "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27).

". . . (BUT) THE BLESSED GOD SHALL COME DOWN . . ." Because of His sinlessness, God was the only Being in the universe qualified to serve as our Redeemer. He condescended to take upon Himself a human body and die for our sins. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).

". . . TEACHING (THAT) HIS DEATH . . ." The death of Christ was the main stumbling block for the Jews in the first century, and it remains so today. To the ancient rabbis, it was unthinkable that God would become a man and die. What a repulsive idea! To them, the Messiah was supposed to be a conquering King (Heb., Melech) not a dying Saviour. That's why Paul said, "But we preach Christ [the Messiah] crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness" (1 Cor. 1:23). Though it does not conform to Jewish tradition, the atoning death of the blessed Son of God is the very heart of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:3; cp. Isa. 53:4-12).

". . . SHALL BRING THE CAPTIVES COMFORT." The New Testament portrays unregenerate humanity as having been enslaved by sin (Rom. 6:6, 17, 19) and Satan (Matt. 13:38; 2 Tim. 2:26). Jesus the Messiah came to fulfill the Prophet Isaiah's "Emancipation Proclamation": "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19; see also Isa. 61:1-2; cp. Lev. 25:10).

What a wonderful message! And how remarkable that God provided an outline of His redemptive plan-some 4,000 years before the Messiah's birth-through the names of His patriarchs!

What Was A Prophet?

A prophet was someone who spoke for God. To be more specific, a prophet was one whom God spoke through. Prophets often declared this fact by saying "Thus saith the Lord".

And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
1 Kings 20:13

A prophet was the very mouthpiece of God. What they spoke was not there own words, but the very words of God.

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:21

Old Testament & New Testament Prophets Were The Same

Some people tell us today that New Testament prophets were different than Old Testament prophets. Is this true? We will take a man named Agabus for our example of a New Testament prophet.

And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth [Famine] throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Acts 11:27-28

And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle [Belt], and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Acts 21:10-11

From these two passages, we see two characteristics of a New Testament prophet: 1) They spoke for God (God spoke through them), and 2) They predicted the future. That is the very same thing that Old Testament prophets did. There is absolutely no difference between a prophet in Old Testament times and a prophet in New Testament times. Later we will see why people try to make this distinction.

Prophets And Prophecy

Some people also tell us today that there is a difference between a prophet and one who prophesies. They say that a person can prophesy all the time but not necessarily be a prophet. Is this true?

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him [Saul]; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
1 Samuel 10:10-11

Now Saul had never prophesied before in his entire life, but when the people see him prophesy they immediately assume that he is a prophet. Why? Because those who prophesied were prophets. This is not to say that prophesying once necessarily made someone a prophet (Saul wasn't). But there weren't people going around prophesying all the time that were not prophets.

One who prophesied was a prophet, and a prophet was one who prophesied. The terms are used interchangeably in the Bible.

Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
1 Corinthians 14:29-32

The above passage is very clear. A prophet is one who prophesies and one who prophesies is a prophet.

Why is it that people try to make these distinctions today? The reason is that they are trying to avoid the Biblical tests for false prophets.

Tests For False Prophets

The Bible gives us two tests for detecting false prophets.

And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22

The first test for a false prophet is his accuracy. True prophets were 100% accurate. Not 95% or even 99%, but 100%. True prophets were controlled by God, so they never missed. If a prophet missed even one time, that "prophet" was a "false prophet".

Those who claim to be prophets today miss all the time. The amazing thing, however, is that even though they predict things that do not come to pass, they do not lose their following. In the Old Testament they would have lost their life. God so despised false prophets that in the verse prior to our last text, He instituted the death penalty for them.

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deuteronomy 18:20

There is a second test for false prophets.

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 13:1-3

In this case, what the false prophet predicts comes to pass, but he is still a false prophet. God will sometimes allow this to test people to see if they love him with all their heart. The test this time is in the message the prophet gives.

Does it line up with scripture? Does it lead us into truth and following the God of the Bible? Or does it lead us into following after a false god or into ERROR. Some of the greatest doctrinal heresy today comes from the mouths of those who claim to be prophets. We test these so-called prophets by examining whether or not what they teach lines up with the Bible.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world
1 John 4:1

It is the doctrine that is taught that is the test of the spirit behind the prophet. The Bible warns us that in the last days, many shall be deceived by evil spirits.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 Timothy 4:1

So then, there are two tests for false prophets. First, a prophet has to be 100% accurate. If they miss even once they are a false prophet. Secondly, a prophet must speak according to sound doctrine. Their message may not contain doctrinal error. It must lead people in the way of truth and after the true God of the Bible.

Is God Angry With Those Who Claim to Speak For Him?

What does God think of people who presumptuously claim to speak for him?
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Jeremiah 14:14-15

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
Jeremiah 23:25-26

Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:31-32

The last verse talks about the "lightness" of the false prophets. They do not take seriously the responsibility of claiming to speak for God. This is no laughing matter. If the person be a true prophet, fine. But if that man speaks presumptuously and is not a true prophet - woe unto that man. God will deal very severely with him. A person had better think twice before claiming to speak for God.

Are There Prophets Today?

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10

In this passage, we are told that three things shall pass away (prophecies, tongues, and knowledge). We have a three-fold passing away. In verse 8, all three are mentioned, but when we come to verse 9, only two are listed. Tongues are no longer mentioned. By the time we get to verse 12, knowledge (I know in part) alone is left.

This passage describes a three-fold passing away. First tongues, then prophecy, and finally knowledge. For information on tongues, see our article "Speaking In Tongues".

Let us look at prophesy.

... we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Prophecy is in part. That is, it is a partial revelation of God's truth. In the early days of Christianity, the New Testament was not yet complete. Scripture was still being written. The church at Corinth, for example, probably had a copy of one of the gospels (Mark, for example) and copies of the letters Paul had written to them. How then were they to know all the other truths that God had for them which had not yet been written down and collected into the New Testament? By prophecy, of course.

Each particular prophecy was only God's revelation in part. But once that which is perfect has come (God's complete revelation in scripture), then there is no more need for that which is in part (prophecy).

For example, there was approximately 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. During that time, no scripture was being written. From the time of the last Old Testament prophet (Malachi), until the time of the first New Testament prophet (John the Baptist), there were no prophets and no prophecy. Once the Old Testament was complete, prophecy stopped.

What, then, would we expect to happen after the New Testament was completed? The same thing. Prophecy would stop. The last New Testament book to be written was the Book of Revelation. It was written around 90 AD. From that time, there has been no such thing as true prophecy.

Now, what about knowledge?

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1 Corinthians 13:12

The partial knowledge that we have in this life will be made complete (perfect) when Jesus Christ returns. Then we shall know as we are known.

So, things that are in part (prophecy and knowledge) pass away when their perfection (completion) comes. Prophesy (around 90 AD with the completion of the New Testament) and knowledge (at the 2nd Coming of Christ).

Some will object at this point. They will say That since "that which is perfect" is singular, therefore, there can only be one thing that is perfect (Either the completion of the NT or the second coming - but not both). Let's look at the text.

But when that which is perfect [singular] is come, then that which is in part [singular] shall be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:10

"That which is in part" is singular as well. If the fact that "that which is perfect" is singular means there can only be one thing that is perfect, then by this same reasoning "that which is in part" (which is singular also) must mean that there can only be one thing that is in part. Nonsense! Verse 9 tells us that there are two things that are in part -- prophecy & knowledge.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in Part.
1 Corinthians 13:9

These people read verse 10 as if it said "But when that which is perfect is come, then THOSE THINGS which ARE in part shall be done away.

That is not what it says! Look at the text.

But when that which is perfect is come, then THAT which IS in part shall be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:10

"That which is perfect" and "that which is in part" are both singular. There is a one to one correspondence between them. When one perfect thing comes then one thing in part is done away.

And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
Zechariah 13:3-4

From the above passage, we see that the Bible anticipated a time in which there would be no true prophets, and anyone who claimed to be a prophet would be looked upon as a false prophet.

False Prophets

There are many warnings in the Bible about false prophets.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Matthew 7:15

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Matthew 24:11

For false Christ's and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22

Since there are no true prophets today, anyone who claims to be a prophet is a false prophet.

Sources of False Prophecy

If those who claim to prophesy today are not true prophets and what they speak is not from God, then what is the source of their message? In the Bible, we find two sources for the messages of false prophets.

1) Evil Spirits

And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
2 Chronicles 18:21

The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 2:8

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Revelation 16:13-14

Evil spirits try to deceive people into thinking that they are receiving a message from God, when in fact the evil spirits themselves are the source of the message.

2) A Person's own heart

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:16

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
Jeremiah 23:26

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Jeremiah 14:14

Another source of false prophecy is a person's own heart. I think that there are two primary ways in which this happens.

1) Intentionally. Sometimes people just plain make it up as they go along. Maybe they are trying to impress others with how spiritual they are. There is a real temptation to do this in charismatic circles, because those who "prophesy" are often held in the highest esteem.

2) Unintentionally. Another way that this is done is that a person misinterprets their own thoughts (the voice of their own spirit) for the voice of God.

Summary

1) A prophet was someone who spoke for God. Their words were not their own, but the very words of God.

2) A prophet in the Old Testament was the same as a prophet in the New Testament. They both spoke for God and predicted the future.

3) A prophet is one who prophesies, and one who prophesies is a prophet. Those who went around prophesying all the time were prophets.

4) The Bible gives us two tests to detect false prophets. First, a prophet must be 100% accurate. They must never miss. Those who "make mistakes" are false prophets. Secondly, a prophet's message must be biblical. It must lead us into truth and following the God of the Bible - not into following a false God or into ERROR. Those who give a prophecy containing false doctrine are false prophets.

5) God is angry with those who claim to be speaking for Him that he did not send. Anyone who "presumptuously" claims to speak for God will be dealt with most severely by Him if they do not repent.

6) Prophecy was in part. That is - it was only a partial revelation of God's truth. When God's complete revelation in scripture came, there was no more need for that which was in part, and prophecy passed away.

7) The Bible contains many warnings to beware of false prophets. The Bible anticipated a time in which there would no longer be any prophets.

8) There are two sources of false prophecy: A) Evil spirits - who try to deceive people with supposed messages from God; and B) A person's own heart - either by making up the message or by mistaking their own thoughts (the voice of their own spirit) for the voice of God.

What will you believe? Will you believe what the Bible says about prophets and prophecy?

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Grace Bible Church - James M. Frye Pastor - Teacher

The Imminent Coming of Christ

The New Testament teaching that Christ could return and rapture His church at any-moment, without prior signs or warning (i.e., imminency), is such a powerful argument for pretribulationism that it is one of the most fiercely attacked doctrines by pre-trib opponents. Non-pretribulationists sense that if the New Testament teaches imminency, then a pre-trib rapture is virtually assured.

DEFINITION OF IMMINENCY

What is the biblical definition of imminency? Dr. Renald Showers defines and describes imminence as follows:

1) An imminent event is one which is always "hanging overhead, is constantly ready to befall or overtake one; close at hand in its incidence." ("imminent," The Oxford English Dictionary, 1901, V, 66.) Thus, imminence carries the sense that it could happen at any moment.

Other things may happen before the imminent event, but nothing else must take place before it happens. If something else must take place before an event can happen, then that event is not imminent. In other words, the necessity of something else taking place first destroys the concept of imminency.

2) Since a person never knows exactly when an imminent event will take place, then he cannot count on a certain amount of time transpiring before the imminent event happens. In light of this, he should always be prepared for it to happen at any moment.

3) A person cannot legitimately set or imply a date for its happening. As soon as a person sets a date for an imminent event he destroys the concept of imminency, because he thereby is saying that a certain amount of time must transpire before that event can happen. A specific date for an event is contrary to the concept that the event could happen at any moment.

4) A person cannot legitimately say that an imminent event will happen soon. The term "soon" implies that an event must take place "within a short time (after a particular point of time specified or implied)." By contrast, an imminent event may take place within a short time, but it does not have to do so in order to be imminent. As I hope you can see by now, "imminent" is not equal to "soon."1

A. T. Pierson has noted that, "Imminence is the combinatioin of two conditions, viz,: certainty and uncertainty. By an imminent event we mean one which is certain to occur at some time, uncertain at what time."2

IMMINENCY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The fact that Christ could return, but may not soon, at any moment, yet without the necessity of signs preceeding His return requires the kind of imminence taught by the pre-trib position and is a strong support for pretribulationism.

What New Testament passages teach this truth? Those verses stating that Christ could return at any moment, without warning and those instructing believers to wait and look for the Lord's coming teach the doctrine of imminence. Note the following New Testament passages:

1 Corinthians 1:7-"awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,"

1 Corinthians 16:22-"Maranatha."

Philippians 3:20-"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;"

Philippians 4:5-"The Lord is near."

1 Thessalonians 1:10-"to wait for His Son from heaven,"

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18-"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 5:6-"so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."

1 Timothy 6:14-"that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,"

Titus 2:13-"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;"

Hebrews 9:28-"so Christ . . . shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."

James 5:7-9-"Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. . . . for the coming of the Lord is at hand. . . . behold, the Judge is standing right at the door."

1 Peter 1:13 -"fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Jude 21-"waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."

Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20-"'I am coming quickly!'"

Revelation 22:17, 20-"And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.'"

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

It is significant that all of the above passages relate to the rapture and speak of the Lord's coming as something that could occur at any-moment, that it is imminent. This is why believers are waiting for a person-Jesus Christ-not an event or series of events such as those related to the tribulation leading up to Christ's second advent in which He returns to the earth and remins for His millennial reign.

IMMINENCE AND PRETRIBULATIONISM

As we consider the above passages, we note that Christ may come at any moment, that the rapture is actually imminent. Only pretribulationism can give a full, literal meaning to such an any-moment event. Other rapture views must redefine imminence more loosely than the New Testamnet would allow. Dr. Walvoord declares, "The exhortation to look for 'the glorious appearing' of Christ to His own (Titus 2:13) loses its significance if the Tribulation must intervene first.

Believers in that case should look for signs."3 If the pre-trib view of imminence is not accepted, then it would make sense to look for signs related to events of the tribulation (i.e., the anti-christ, the two witnesses, etc.) and not for Christ Himself. But the New Testament, as demonstrated above, uniformly instructs the church to look for the coming of Christ, while tribulation saints are told to look for signs.

The New Testament exhortation to be comforted by the Lord's coming (John 14:1; 1 Thess. 4:18) would no longer have meaning if believers first had to pass through any part of the tribulation. Instead, comfort would have to await passage through the events of the tribulation. No, the church has been given a "Blessed Hope," in part, because our Lord's return is truly imminent.

MARANATHA!

The early church had a special greeting for one another, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 16:22, which was "Maranatha!" Maranatha consists of three Aramaic words: "Mar" ("Lord"), "ana" ("our"), and "tha" ("come"), meaning "our Lord, come." As with other New Testament passages, Maranatha only makes sense if an any-moment or imminent coming is understood. Such an understanding supports the pre-trib position.

No wonder these ancient Christians coined such a unique greeting which reflects an eager expectation of the Blessed Hope as a very real presence in their everyday lives. The life of the church today could only be improved if "Maranatha" were to return as a sincere greeting on the lips of an expectant people. Maranatha!

By Thomas Ice

ENDNOTES

1 Renald Showers, Maranatha Our Lord, Come! A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church (Bellmawr, N.J.: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc., 1995), pp. 127-28.

2Arthur T. Pierson, Our Lord's Second Coming as a Motive to World-Wide Evangelism (published by John Wanamaker, n.d., cited in Showers, Maranatha, p. 127.

3 John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), p. 273.